Silhouette under sail at last...

When we were in Bequia I went to see about an internet question I had to the local office supply store on a Friday. The store was closed so I went to the bar on the other side to ask if the store had moved as it was middle of the day. I met a man (Brad) in the bar and we chatted he was on a charter boat. When I mentioned the name of our boat he said that it was the prettiest boat he ever saw I gave him a boat card and while we were in Bequia I received an email with 3 pictures he took of us under sail near Mayreau . These are the only ones we have under full sail. What a nice man and what a coincidence!

The adventure is over for Stephanie and Evan

The next day (11/27/09) the adventure was over and my first girl friend to come had to leave, oh and she took my ‘waterboy’ too. Evan took on the daunting task of washing down the anchor chain when we were retrieving the anchor. It was nice to have help with the heavier work as well and the sailing was fun.

Thanksgiving dinner at the Antigua Yacht Club

Then we had dinner at Antigua Yacht Club as it was too late to cook (tee, hee hee). We planned on cooking fish on the boat as Evan is mostly vegetarian (except for fish). Instead I got my favorite lamb chops – they were delicious.

Canon sitting in English Harbor

We took turns sitting on the canon in English Harbor on Thanksgiving Day and touring around the historic part of town.

We are anchored next to Nakita again

Our friends on Nakita are in Antigua as well – you saw an earlier picture of their two youngsters, Isabelle and Jake…this is their boat. Next time maybe I will get a picture of them! (Actually we have a pizza date tomorrow so hopefully I will a) remember the camera and b) remember to get it out and take their picture.

The gals under the palm tree.

The gals under the palm tree.

Friendly lizards

Stephanie found that if she tapped the sheet (or ground) they came right up and licked and nibbled her fingers. One even crawled onto my hand.

Lizards galore

While on Green Island we wanted to go to a little beach with a palm tree as it looked so inviting. I took a white sheet (easier to get the sand out) to sit on. Imagine our surprise when lizards galore came out of the surrounding area and seemed to be unafraid of people. Stephanie found that if she tapped the sheet (or ground) they came right up and licked and nibbled her fingers. One even crawled onto my hand.

aah vacation

Evan likes to read as well. One day they both brought out there books while I went below to do something…about 15 minutes later I was going to go out and join them but noticed that both were sound asleep. Then they disappeared into cabin and I had to wake them up for happy hour – ahh vacation.

Green Inland is a wonderful retreat

We sailed over to Green Island on the east coast of Antigua. It is a lovely deserted spot to swim, snorkel or just read.

Dancing under the stars

Stephanie and Even get into the mood with a little dancing under the stars.

Scenic hike in Shirley Heights

The four of us took a little hike to a scenic overview.

Shirley Heights is a must see in Antigua

Shirley Heights is the place to be on a Sunday night as they have a big barbeque, steel pan music and a view that is hard to beat. Our boat is anchored in the bay in the middle of this photo though it is hard to see.

Stephanie and Evan arrive

Stephanie and Evan arrive on Saturday the 21 – they shed the jeans very soon.

Outdoor oven for Carl

Hey Carl, we found your pizza / bread oven. Yes, the pizza was wonderful.

Local bar found

Next we sailed to Antigua where we were to meet our friends Stephanie and Evan for their Thanksgiving week visit. We found a ‘local’ bar soon after arrival and met some nice locals as well.

Cloudbows

For some reason in the Caribbean rainbows (should they be called 'cloudbows?) appear in the clouds. This is the 6th or 7th time I have seen it happen and just had to get a picture.

Bourg Des Saintes from the boat

Here is a photo of Bourg Des Saintes from the boat. A really lovely place we probably will not revisit due to the language barrier…too bad.

Iles Des Saintes

Next we stopped in the Iles Des Saintes just north of Martinique. We were to check out of customs there but were told there that we did not need to. We were totally confused by then as we speak no French and these islands are very French.

A fishbowl for Dad

After offloading all the beer and wine we found a lovely place for lunch – look Dad, Mark got a ‘fishbowl’!

Restocking wine looks mostly like beer

One of the main reasons we stopped at Martinique was to re-stock wine. Mark was also looking specifically for a German beer (Konigsbacher Pils) and I was down to 3 lonely bottles of wine. Once the cart was loaded with 9 cases of beer, there was only room for 2 cases of wine. Rats!

Club Med in Martinique from a different view

Quite a few years ago (1978 and 1980 to be exact) I went to Club Med in Martinique….once with my then husband (David) then with my girlfriend Barb Reed. Both were a lot of fun. I never expected to be sailing by the same spot on my own sailboat. So this is Club Med from the water…my how times and life changes.

Mark plays Tom Sawyer...again

Mark was cleaning the side of the boat (while I cleaned the topside). This guy came by on this very patriotic dinghy trying to sell us fruit, vegetables and handmade baskets. Mark said no thanks but would he like to clean the boat hull which he did in short order. But when he was done he left….hmmm something wrong with this turn of events me thinks!

Marvin leaves St. Lucia

I had to get one last picture of Marvin and Mark in just before Marvin left.

Bye bye Marvin, thanks for the visit

Last stop was Rodney Bay where Marvin was to meet friends he met on the way down. This is our track through the marina but we finally decided to take a slip (only 33.00 US per night). Seems like Marvin took most of the pictures on this trip so mine are kind of skimpy. HOWEVER, St. Lucia was wonderful…we will go back and plan to stay much longer. Marvin said he wanted to look into renting a house for a month.

Marigot was another hit and miss

Next stop was Marigot which was very pretty, we did not stay long so need to come back. Stay tuned for more infomation on this place.

Soufriere waterfront

This is the waterfront, one of the prettiest we have ever seen.

The falls in the gardens

Still in the gardens at the water fall. Had to get a picture of the ‘buds’ but it kinda looks like the falls are coming out of Marks’ head.

Mark joins a band

Mark found a band he wanted to join in the gardens.

Wagon wheel hair is the norm now...

Hey Dad…when I was a kid you always asked me if I had combed my hair with a wagon wheel. Was this the one you were talking of? This is in the botanical gardens – a must see in Soufriere.

A bar and no beer, how weird is that...

Then the driver took us to a beautiful hotel – I had to take a photo of the only bar in which we did not stop to have a beer!

Can you say volcano...

This is the volcano, they say it is ‘safe’ as long as it is steaming.

Soufriere means sulfur in French

We sailed up to Soufriere (French for sulfur) and took a taxi tour of the island. We had lunch overlooking the Pitons and really enjoyed our tour.

A ladder to customs....only in the islands...

Next we ventured up to Vieux Fort to clear customs into St Lucia.. Who would have thought you would have to climb a ladder to clear customs, but this is definitely part of the ‘island’ experience. Mark and I had never been to St. Lucia so we were looking forward to exploring it with Marvin.

The phone will not fit in any pocket I know of...

They also found a small telephone museum – I wonder what the inventors of the various telephones like this one would think of cell phones?

Wallilabou Bay and we were the only boat...

Wallilabou Bay was our next stop and much to our surprise we found that it was used during the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean. Mark and Marvin toured some of the sets left behind.

On to St. Vincent

The next morning we took off and sailed to St Vincent. Marvin and Mark decided to try their luck at fishing but I am sad to report that the only fish we have caught to date is from another fisherman via our wallet.

Moonhole

We sailed around Bequia and took pictures of Moonhole houses – check them out at http://www.paradise-islands.org/grenadines/bequia-moonhole.htm We wanted to tour but unfortunately they were not yet open for the season. We have found that many places are not open as business has been so bad due to the downturn in the economy. So all you folks still working kick it in the &^%$ and get the economy back in shape so we can tour next year. We anchored that night in Friendship Bay but it was a bit rolly. Marvin is able to sleep better on the boat then at home…we think it is because he has no work that he must do here…doesn’t work for me, darn the luck!

Marvin arrives early, I can quit cleaning early

Our first guest, Marvin Theobald, arrives (and early at that) so he had to wait the New York Bar for us to come fetch him.

No Chuck E Cheese in paradise

We met some folks anchored next to us in Grenada (Dave and Rayanne) aboard Nakita a 40 ft. Hallberg-Rassey. They have a 3 and 5 year old – now this takes guts! But they are having a good time, this is Isabelle and Jake. It was Jake’s 6th birthday and we were invited out for pizza (thank GOD there is no such thing as Chucky Cheese here) and after for cake aboard their boat.

Our first Swedish friends

We met some very nice folks aboard a catamaran named Ragazza III, Gitta and Ove from Sweden. We had happy hour aboard their boat and then dinner out. After Marvin arrived we had them over for HH and then dinner…alas no pictures with Marvin included.

the Captain goes on emergency snorkel

The captain went overboard with snorkel gear to check the situation. The chain (on the other boat) was removed from the anchor well and tied to a long rope. This was then fed over our chain then under and back to their boat. The chain was retrieved via the windlass which in turn dragged the their anchor under our hull. They were very grateful that we were calm and competent. What the heck, no new scratches! We untied the lines and off they went….so much for our very first Caribbean ‘raft-up’.

Anchor drag drill

The next morning (Sunday) I heard some voices close (I was below) and popped up to see who was coming to visit. Imagine my astonishment when I saw this boat crosswise in front of us dragging anchor. I told Mark he was needed topside NOW and ran forward to lend a hand. We got the boat along side ours and put all fenders out. These folks were from Czechoslovakia and the captain did not speak any English, however a crewmember did.

Ahhh, Mexican food I did not have to cook....

Then back to Bequia where we stayed put until Marvin arrived, naturally we had to go to the Mexican restaurant to get our ‘fix’.

Just a waterfront scene in Carricou.

Just a waterfront scene in Carricou.

After almost 5 months in Grenada...it is time to go

On to Carriacou to check out of 'Grenada' customs.

Carriacou on our way up

On to Carriacou to check out of ‘Grenada’ customs.

Bye bye Grenada

We left Grenada on and anchored between at Petite Nevis and Petite Martinique. There was a cool looking restaurant / bar on Petite Nevis but alas, it was not open for the season yet.

Moon Dancer

Chris and Nell – their boat is named Moon Dancer - a pretty name.

Though they have only been cruising less than 2 years they have been all the way up to Nova Scotia. Nell said it is FREEZING there and the boat heaters don't work because the water is too cold....guess we will go later by car.

Happy hour on a Tayana 55

One of the ‘girls’ from the girls day out Nell called and invited us over for ‘sundowners’ (that is Happy Hour in the states) This is Mark and Phil.